SAINT JAMES, MO [DOM} – On Saturday, June 7, Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Mission in Saint James, MO blessed a newly constructed home built for the worship services and social space of their growing community.
With great joy, the parish held its first services in the new space for the Great Feast of Pentecost. “God’s love for us, coupled with our participation, tithes, alms, prayers, faith, work, sweat, tears, and love have made this possible,” Priest Joel Wilson, Priest-in-Charge at Annunciation, shared in a message to the parish before the blessing of the building.
In early 2012, then-Deacon Joel received a blessing from His Grace, Bishop Matthias to plant a mission in Rolla, MO in cooperation with Saint Thomas the Apostle Church in Springfield, MO. This new community celebrated their first Liturgy on February 9, 2013, and with the blessing of His Grace Bishop Alexander, was named in honor of the Annunciation. Shortly after, Father Joel was ordained to the Holy Priesthood.
In these early days, the small but growing Annunciation community gathered in a Knights of Columbus hall and then, after the generous offering of the space by one of the church’s families, in part of an office building. In early 2014, after a miraculous series of donations, Fr. Joel and his family purchased property in St. James, MO, which included a house, a separate outbuilding, and five acres of land. By February of 2015, members of Annunciation finished renovating the outbuilding to use as a temporary chapel.
For over 10 years, Annunciation continued gathering in this temporary temple. After losing nearly all its membership during Covid in 2020, by the grace of God, beginning in 2021 the mission began experiencing exponential growth. The community outgrew the space of the temporary temple, and it was not uncommon to find the faithful participating in services from the back of the narthex or even by standing outside next to open windows.
Plans for a permanent temple were initially drawn up in 2021. However, by early 2023, the parish had already outgrown these plans. In July of 2024, Annunciation purchased an adjacent plot of 15 acres of land and immediately began work on a multipurpose building which would serve as a transitional space for the growing community. Future plans are to have this multipurpose building serve as the fellowship hall upon completion of the permanent limestone temple, but as of June 7, it now serves as the church itself.
Remarkably, this new building was completed in 9 1/2 months due to extreme generosity and tireless efforts of the mission community, each seeking, according to their abilities, to become “founders of this holy church,” and desiring also to provide space for the growing number of those heeding the call of God to come and see. For more information on life and growth at Annunciation Church in Saint James, please visit https://annunciationoca.org
